Travel : Venice & Lake Garda

Salam guys,
So sorry for no updates these days.I have been a bit busy studying for my next test next week.I am about to obtain a German driving license because my Malaysian driving license is not valid here after 6 month of my arrival.

Still owe you guys the update of my Italy trip last month,when in fact we were in Berlin last weekend :P

And with the coming christmas and new year holidays,we are planning for the next trip!

Here is the second day of our Venice trip and from Venice we drove to our guesthouse in the north Italy,stopped at Lago di Garda/Lake Garda on the way for some early dinner and to catch the sunset of the day because the weather was again very nice.

We left our hotel in Venice very early in the morning when many shops were still closed and the sellers were still setting their booths that day.

Many shops were still closed when we started our walks that day in Venice

The Gondoliers were about to start their business

Grand Canal of Venice,this is near the Rialto Bridge

The cafes and restaurants were only open for breakfast

We walked in between the small roads and came across the Venetians' houses of the locals

Local Venetian houses

Again at Grand Canal

The Gondolas out of service that day

This is the end point of Venice we reached that day by walking.This is the church that I saw the day before from the lookout tower and I thought before that visitors can only reach here by waterbus

The lookout point tower at the back

Had last Gelato in Italy that day.The top is Pistacchio and bottom is Stracciatella with choc chunks

Around noon,we decided to leave Venice to our next destination which we were not sure yet at this point where should we head to.We have two potential places on the way to the guesthouse to visit,but we can only choose one because it will get darker earlier.There were Verona and Lake Garda,Verona is famous with the Juliet's House,while Lake Garda is famous as a tourism place with lake as its view.

At the end we chose to stop at Lake Garda because I wanted to indulge in Italian food by the lake :P
And turned out I made a good decision because I had what I can say the best Spaghetti Frutti di Mare in Italy.It was so good despite the quite expensive price for a bowl of spaghetti,but the seafood used were so fresh I can taste its sweetness from the seafood.

Lake Garda

My Spaghetti Frutti di Mare and husband's Pizza Margharita

Dining Al-fresco with the view of the lake

Travel : Venice Day 1

Assalam everyone.
So sorry for not updating this blog frequently these past few days.Sometimes,you have no reason not to update.Haha,well,I just have to admit,sometimes I was just too lazy to update because some posts may need few hours to complete especially posts with many pictures and descriptions.

Well,I hope I can update this blog more religiously.And December is finally here.This means we have less than a month till new year.I have a marvellous 2015 so far,but I really hope more good things will come our way in 2016 :)

Today is the update of my Venice trip last month.Venice is my favourite city of all cities in Italy.It was my second time last time,and I dare to say that I enjoyed this trip a lot more than last time.

We were greeted with very nice and bright weather for the whole 2 days we were there,Alhamdulillah.And Venice looked extra beautiful in good weather.

We started driving from Milan to Venice that took us around 2 hours early in the morning.After very very heavy breakfast(Because the food selections were generous and many food was good) at our hotel in Milan.For the record,we stayed at this very nice 4-star hotel located at the suburb of Milan.Despite its quality,we payed very very cheap for a freaking big and modern family room,only 49 Euros per day including breakfast buffet!

Well,my husband said,it was a promotion when he booked the hotel,although the real price per night is double than what we paid.We were so satisfied during our stay at this hotel.

Hotel da Vinci.Maybe the owner of this hotel likes Da Vinci so much :P.Every decoration inside and outside this hotel has something to do with him

The drive to Venice was also nice and we arrived there at noon.So,we parked our car at the provided park house before crossing the island of Venice because no cars or any other transports other than water transports can access into the area of Venice.It's not far at all,just around 5 minutes walk to the island of Venice from the main land.

Upon arrival,it was not time yet for check-in,so we decided to have a stroll at the nearby area and eat gelato!If you ever come to Italy,don't miss the chance to eat gelato because gelato here is relatively cheap and many selections too!I had gelato 2 days in a row when I was in Venice!

One of the many many canals in Venice.This place has less people compared to the center of Venice.

The local Venetian houses

Canal that connects to the sea

I had Mint(top) and Straciatella(bottom).It was yo yummy!

After some time strolling around the less crowded area of Venice,we decided to check our hotel area and check whether we can already check-in or not.FYI,accomodation on the island of Venice is quite expensive and please don't expect to get a nice hotel room.Many of the hotels are actually the apartments that are converted into hotel rooms by the owners.

We were quite satisfied with ours,nevertheless.After some rest and performed prayers,we decided to explore more side of Venice since we now didn't have to carry our luggage around.Our aim was to head to Piazza San Marco to catch the sunset of the day.

On the way to Piazza San Marco

The Gondolas carrying passengers cruising on the canals.Two times in Venice we never bothered ourselves to go on a ride,mostly because it is quite expensive.And according to my husband,for 30 minutes ride,the gondoliers won't really be taking you to nicer parts of Venice and the water of the canals smell quite badly :P.Maybe that was just his excuse :P.But I was also not eager to ask for a ride.

Ponte di Rialto/Rialto Bridge,the most famous bridge in Venice

Venice is also famous with Masquerades sold as souvenirs

Piazza San Marco that is always crowded with tourists

San Marco Basilica.I heard the architecture from inside is amazing,but we didn't get to go inside as the queue was quite long,we didn't want to wait because our baby might not like to wait :P

At Piazza San Marco,I wanted to go up the lookout tower called Campanile di San Marco,just opposite to the San Marco Basilica to enjoy the scenery of Venice from up there.Again this time my husband didn't join as he had to take care of our daughter downstairs.I made it a quick visit going up as I didn't want to let my husband wait long.However,I really enjoyed the scenery from up the tower especially when the weather was so nice that day.Caught a glimpse of sunset as well from up there.It was worth a long queue and the 8 euros ticket I had to pay.

From on top of Campanile di San Marco

The other side of Venice from on top of the tower

The second day in Venice,we walked till that very end point of the church in the middle.On my first trip to Venice I always thought that that church is on another island and that we have to take the water bus going there,but in fact it is connected by small bridges crossing from one canal to the other and it is reachable by walking

See how many people were at Piazza San Marco

Catching the sunset.If you ever come to Venice,make sure to catch the sunset at San Marco because it is very beautiful.Two times I was here two times I waited for the sunset at this place

Doge's Palace on the left side connecting through the Bridge of Sighs to the prison on the right.The legendary Casanova was once imprisoned here before he later escaped.

On the way back to the hotel.This view at sunset simply made my day :)

Travel : Gotthardpass,Swiss & Milan,Italy

Finally,the update of my Italy trip.So,apparently,it was my second time in Italy and gazzilionth time for my husband :P

Well,we choose Italy because of 2 main reasons:I love the country that has many interesting things to visit,and its food!!

As usual,we opted for road trip again this time,because we planned to visit 2 main cities in Italy which are Milan and Venice,and by road tripping there is always a possibility to stop on the way.

And this trip involved of 4 countries.From Germany to Swiss to Italy.And on the way back from Italy through Austria and lastly back in Germany.

The scenic nature view along the way when we reached in Swiss.Switzerland has never dissapointed me with its calm view

Last time going to Italy we drove through a veeeeery long tunnel over the Alps because the time when we drove there it was already winter.This time however,we chose to drive through Gotthardpass,passing Alps at the maximum height of 1500m plus.It was not much different in terms of distance compare to using the tunnel,and foremost we were served with beautiful scenery along the way.Oh,yes,but please bear in mind that the roads of Gotthardpass are narrow with steep slopes!

We stopped at the highest peak of Gotthardpass to enjoy the scenery

See the roads,those are the roads we took

And then we continued our journey to Italy.In total we spent around 5 1/2 hours until we reached Milan.For the accomodation,we opted for a hotel outside of the city center because it's not that easy to park the car in the city center.Our hotel is at the suburb of Milan city,but is easily accessible by metro and rapid train.However as there was a strike of the workers of the rapid train that day,so we had to walk a bit farther to the metro station.

After settled in the hotel for some time,we decided to go to the most famous place in Milan,Duomo and the plaza around.

We were greeted with Duomo and the weather was perfect that day.Very opposite to when I was here 2 years ago,it rained all day long when we were there,plus so cold,plus I was not so well due to morning sickness.This time though,I had a good memory to remember from my Milan trip

When at Duomo Plaza,always be aware of the swindlers trying to trick your money into their trap.They will pretend to be friendly to take your pictures,but later they will ask for your money.My husband had always warned me since last time we were there,so we were quite aware of this scam

She was very happy to catch the pigeons,running here and there without thinking any obstacles in front of her -__-

Piazza Duomo

At the back is the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II,a famous high-end shopping center.Afterall,Milan is famous as a hub for fashion lovers

This time in Milan I wanted to go up the terraces of Duomo as last time I didn't manage to do so mainly because it rained,so the terraces were closed due to wetness.But only me went up there as it is not a suitable place for babies with stroller,so husband had to wait downstairs :P .Oh,ya,the visitors have to pay to go up there.I chose to go up by lift because I wanted to save husband's waiting time.Ok,I lie,I just don't feel like stepping up that day haha :P

Up the terraces

Facing the shopping center from the terraces

The rooftop,people can sit and relax here while waiting for the sunset

After going down the lift,we walked some more towards the direction of the opera house and stopped on the way at a famous Milanese street food called "Panzerotti",a deep-fried pizza with various filling.I heard it was so famous because it tastes good and last time I saw a very long queue of people wanted to buy it.This time though there was no queue at all and I had my hands on this Panzerroti.It was good,although I would say nothing so special about it.It tasted just like Cakoi in Malaysia with tomato and cheese filling inside.

Panzerotti

Leonardo da Vincci statue not far from Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.Last time we went to visit da Vinci Museum in the village where he was born called Vincci

The high-ends shopping center with my very expensive possession :P

The Ceilings of the shopping center

After Duomo and its surrounding,we took the metro to Castello Sforzesco,an old famous castle not far from Duomo.Actually,it is reachable by walking,but since it was getting darker earlier,we wanted to arrive before the sunset.On the way to Duomo,we enjoyed a long walk from the castle and later caught the metro back to the hotel and called it a day.

Castello Sforzesco

Stopped at a pizzeria near the metro station nearby our hotel.I ordered this Calzone,but it was tasteless,to be honest.I can make a lot better Calzone than this :P